Light, composition and timing are important parameters for building photography. Both indoor and outdoor photography require planning and experimentation. However, following certain guidelines will make it easier to get flattering pictures of the interior and exterior of buildings. The architectural character of a building translates well through its details, as opposed to the vista of a building. Additionally, interiors lend distinctive elements to composition and impression. To add more creativity to your building photography, you can do the following.

 Photograph a doorway for interesting composition. The ‘details’ of a building can be interesting, than the building as a whole. You can shoot a captivating ‘door knob’. A common place item can come to life-like sculpture.

 Photograph empty rooms of a house. Rooms without people or many belongings make stark comment on a world left behind. Though it is not possible to empty the room completely, you can consider removing ‘clutter’. Select a primary subject and do not get that subject lost in too many secondary objects.

 Building photography looks better when it is taken in natural settings. Use long lenses in an office building to capture people in a more natural state.

 Use geometric composition to create realistic impressions. Experiment with camera angles and light to show a new world.

 Take several shots with different settings until you reach a satisfactory exposure. Overexpose your image to include more window light into the scene.

 Analyze the exteriors of the building, a day before the intended shoot. You need to be aware of what direction each side of the building faces. You will need a frontal shot of the building, if it is for a promotional campaign. If the building faces east, it would be better to shoot during the sun rise, as you can get more natural light. If the building faces the west, the ideal shoot would be in the evening. If the building faces north, you need to adjust the settings in your camera’s white balance to ‘shade’ and shoot either during sunrise or sunset.

 Take exposures of the building continuously as the sun rises or falls. Load the pictures into your computer and look through each one to find the image with the best lighting.

 When shooting in bright sunlight, a building will have some harsh shadows. Your flash unit will not be able to combat the harsh shadow, because of the size of the building. Instead of eliminating the ‘shadow’ factor, you can use the shadows to your advantage, by creating a highly contrasted photo.

The job of a building photographer is to look for interesting foregrounds. A great foreground could be a pond, statue, a busy street, or anything that is interesting visually. If you want that one-in-a-million shot, you need to be there for all of the moments when the weather naturally makes your subject stand out. You also need to have a tripod, which is a critical tool for building photography. Patience is the key for getting unique photos of buildings. The best ones are shot with a little extra effort.

This article was written by Sterling Powless on behalf of Toby Carter Photography, Toby Carter is a professional photographer based out in Marlborough, Wiltshire, skilled in photography and video for architects, designers and construction companies. To know about architecture photographers visit, Architecture Specialty Group page of ASMP.